Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is planning to deploy at least 160,000 high-end AI accelerators from Huawei Technologies Co at a large data centre under construction in Inner Mongolia, potentially creating one of the biggest known clusters of Huawei AI chips.
The move could mark a significant step in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on Nvidia Corp for advanced processors used to develop and run artificial intelligence models.
According to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter, DeepSeek plans to use Huawei’s next-generation Ascend 950DT chips to operate its AI models. However, the schedule for installing the processors will depend largely on Huawei’s ability to manufacture them.
DeepSeek to use chips mainly for running AI models
DeepSeek is not currently planning to use the Ascend 950DT processors for training its models, despite Huawei designing and positioning the chips for more demanding training workloads.
The startup had previously explored training its AI models using Huawei processors. However, it has so far continued to rely on Nvidia accelerators for the critical training process, Bloomberg reported.
DeepSeek is seeking additional supplies of Huawei’s most advanced chips, but production constraints could make it difficult for the company to meet the startup’s requirements.
Huawei faces production constraints
Huawei is expected to produce only a few hundred thousand Ascend 950DT chips this year because of shortages of key components, including advanced memory.
The company also needs to meet demand from other customers while attempting to ship limited quantities of its processors to overseas markets. As a result, fulfilling DeepSeek’s order could take more than a year, according to people familiar with the situation cited by Bloomberg.
If the project proceeds as planned, the Inner Mongolia facility could become an important part of DeepSeek’s expanding AI infrastructure. The startup is reportedly in discussions to raise billions of dollars to finance its infrastructure expansion.
Proposed cluster would surpass known Huawei installations
A deployment of more than 160,000 Huawei Ascend processors at one facility would be substantially larger than other publicly known clusters based on the Chinese company’s AI chips.
Such a project would represent an important development in Beijing’s efforts to build an AI ecosystem that does not depend on Nvidia technology.
By the time the Inner Mongolia facility becomes operational, China could potentially have several AI computing clusters of a similar scale, according to the report.
China seeks alternatives to Nvidia
A data centre containing more than 100,000 AI chips would put DeepSeek’s infrastructure ambitions broadly in line with the scale of facilities increasingly being built by major Western technology companies. However, Chinese facilities would operate with processors that remain less powerful than Nvidia’s leading accelerators.
Nvidia’s AI chips remain the global industry standard for training and running sophisticated AI models. Their availability in China has been severely restricted by US export controls, with sales of certain advanced processors requiring Washington’s approval.
